


Stood Up

by orphan_account



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Day of Hearts, Gift Giving, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, Rapunzel has two hands, These dumb babies, Uknighted Dream, Valentine’s Day, cassunzel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22732921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rapunzel is eager to spend time with her boyfriend and girlfriend on the Day of Hearts, but a wrench is thrown in her plans when Cassandra is nowhere to be found.
Relationships: Cassandra/Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 4
Kudos: 169





	Stood Up

**Author's Note:**

> I was writing this all day on the 14th but I kept getting distracted and didn’t actually finish it until after midnight so technically it’s not even Valentine’s Day anymore but whatever

“Almost… _almost…”_

A single rose fell into place in the center of a bouquet of other flowers.

“Done!”

Rapunzel took a step back to admire her work, bringing her hands to rest on her hips. She smiled proudly, eyes glittering.

“How does it look, Pascal?” She asked eagerly to the chameleon on the table beside the bouquet.

Pascal gave her a double thumbs-up, grinning at her and nodding.

“Perfect!” Rapunzel clapped her hands together eagerly, “The florist told me all the meanings of all the flowers, so I made sure to pick out the best ones. I hope she’ll like it,” she added nervously, “I know she’s not really into all that… lovey-dovey stuff… but it’s the Day of Hearts and—“

“Who are we talking about?” A familiar voice interrupted her from the room’s entryway, “Because if it’s Cassandra, then I’m placing my bets now that she’ll hate it.”

Rapunzel turned to Eugene with wide, panicked eyes. “Will she?” She yelped.

“Oh, hey, no—“ Eugene crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders, “Blondie, I was just kidding. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“I hope so,” Rapunzel said anxiously, “I really just want her to know how much I appreciate her, and that she means just as much to me as you do,” she sighed.

“I know,” Eugene said. He tucked a purple flower Rapunzel hadn’t seen him carrying into her hair, ”If it was anybody else giving it to her, I’d say that Cass would be… less than thrilled, about getting flowers. But it’s _you._ And if there’s one thing I know about Cass, it’s that she loves you. So, she’ll love any gift you give her. It’s the thought that counts, right?”

“That’s not how it’s been before…” Rapunzel replied doubtfully, remembering all the other times she’d tried to give Cassandra gifts, only for them to be received with heavy reluctance.

“That was _before,”_ Eugene reminded her. “This is now. Trust me, it’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen? She doesn’t like them, you move on. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“I guess you’re right,” Rapunzel sighed, “I just want today to be perfect— for _all_ of us.”

“And it will be. No matter what happens.” Eugene leaned forward and pecked her on the lips.

They smiled at each other for a few moments before Eugene lightly pushed her in the direction of the table where the bouquet sat. “Now go get your girl!”

Rapunzel grinned at him. She brought a hand up to touch the flower in her hair to make sure it wasn’t going to fall out before she swept the bouquet up in her hands and dashed out the door.

Left behind, Eugene and Pascal shared a knowing look over Rapunzel’s excitement.

* * *

Rapunzel’s gut twisted anxiously as she made her way down the path to one of the areas where Cass trained, figuring she would find her there. She was beginning to feel more ridiculous by the second, wandering alone through an empty field with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

She knew Cassandra wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the Day of Hearts. The woman had complained about it before on numerous occasions, and earlier that morning she’d only given Rapunzel a short kiss in passing before hurrying off. Of course, she had thought nothing of it at the time, but looking back at it now, Rapunzel was a little hurt. Cass knew how much the Day of Hearts meant to her, so where was she going in such a rush that she couldn’t even stop for longer than a minute?

Rapunzel stopped as she reached the spot where Cassandra frequently trained. She glanced around— not a person in sight.

Frowning, she turned around and headed back the way she came. Maybe Cass was around town?

Rapunzel wandered around the square for a while, peering into shops and saying hello to all the happy couples and welcoming storekeepers. She walked through the streets, keeping an eye out for Cass as she made polite conversation with the townsfolk. But Cassandra was nowhere to be found.

Thinking that maybe Cass had returned to the castle at some point, Rapunzel went there last. She checked every room, closet, and secret passage she knew — still no sign of her girlfriend.

It was with a heavy heart that Rapunzel landed back at square one, the sun setting as she dropped the bouquet miserably back into their vase before flopping into a chair beside Eugene. A bowl of grapes sat on the table in front of them, Pascal leaning over the edge of it.

“I can’t find Cass anywhere,” Rapunzel sighed dejectedly, watching as Eugene offered Pascal a grape.

“Well, where have you looked?” Eugene asked.

“I’ve looked _everywhere!”_ Rapunzel cried, “Her training ground, the Guard’s training field, the town, the weaponry, her room, the whole _castle!_ I’ve asked the Captain, my parents, Stan and Pete, even Old Lady Crowley… nobody seems to know where she is.”

“That’s strange,” Eugene commented, turning his full attention to her, “Have you seen her at all since earlier this morning?”

Rapunzel shook her head.

“Well… maybe she just needs some space. Who knows what’s on that woman’s mind nowadays?”

“Maybe…” Rapunzel murmured. She rested her chin on her hands, frowning down at the floor. “I just wanted to do something nice for her for _one_ day…”

Pascal hopped off the low table and climbed up Rapunzel’s arm to rest on her shoulder. He gave her a sympathetic look.

“I’m sure she’ll turn up before the night is over,” Eugene reassured her, “It’s Cass. You know she likes her independence.”

“I know…” Rapunzel sighed. “It’s just… I wanted to spend the day with both of you,” she glanced up to meet his gaze, “And instead, I spent the entire time running around Corona, looking for someone who might not even _want_ to be found.”

“Well, the day’s not over yet,” Eugene reminded her, “There’s still our dinner to look forward to.”

“It’s in less than an hour,” Rapunzel said, “What if Cass doesn’t show up? She said she’d be there, and before I had no reason not to believe her, but now…”

“She’s not normally the kind of person to stand someone up,” Eugene said uncertainly.

A silence fell over them for a few moments.

“You don’t think something happened to her, do you?” Rapunzel asked anxiously.

“It’s Cass,” Eugene reasoned, “I think she can fend for herself.”

“I know,” Rapunzel sighed, “I just can’t think of any other explanation…” she shook her head, “It’s not like her to just disappear without warning like this.”

Eugene shrugged. “I don’t know, Blondie. Cass is a real enigma.” He stood up from his seat, walking over to Rapunzel and tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “Look, why don’t you go and get ready for dinner? If I happen to see Cass, I’ll talk to her. Okay?”

Rapunzel sighed. “Okay.”

She stood up, and she gave Eugene a sad smile before they parted ways. Rapunzel grabbed the vase of flowers on her way out.

With Pascal on her shoulder, Rapunzel headed up to her bedroom. By the time she closed the door behind her, placed the bouquet on the table, and slumped over on her bed, the sun had sunk entirely below the horizon.

“I don’t understand, Pascal,” she sighed, bringing the chameleon in her hands from her shoulder down to her lap, “Where could she have gone?”

Pascal merely shrugged, looking glum.

Almost as if on cue, there was a light knock on the door. Rapunzel glanced up curiously.

“Raps,” came an achingly familiar voice, “Are you in there?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Pascal had to spring out of the way before Rapunzel leapt to her feet, hurrying over to the door and wrenching it open. Cassandra’s eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step backward, hands behind her back.

“Cass!” Rapunzel gasped, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all day!”

Cassandra winced as Rapunzel stepped aside so she could enter the room. “Sorry,” she apologized, letting the door slip shut behind her, “I lost track of time.”

“Doing _what?”_ Rapunzel asked. “I don’t wanna pry or anything, but I was really hoping to spend most of today with you and Eugene. And you were nowhere to be found.” She looked Cassandra up and down. Her hands were still behind her back. “You’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cassandra said. “Look, Raps, I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean for it to take all day. It was just… there was this stupid, little thing I needed to take care of. I didn’t realize it would take as long as it did.”

“It’s… it’s okay,” Rapunzel sighed. She smiled softly, “I mean, there’s still dinner, right?”

Cassandra returned the smile, though there was something off about it. “Right.”

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment. Cassandra’s hands were still folded behind her back, her eyes flitting around the room as she bit her bottom lip. And… was her face red?

“Cass?” Rapunzel asked nervously.

Cassandra’s gaze snapped up to meet hers, and she coughed. “Uh,” she stammered, “I, well— I… I have… the thing that I had to do, it’s— well, it—“ her face got even redder, before she steeled her expression, wiping off most of the awkward embarrassment as she looked anywhere but Rapunzel’s face once more. “Just— here.” She pulled out an object from behind her back, shoving it haphazardly into Rapunzel’s hands.

It was a small box— nothing fancy. It was red and heart-shaped.

Curious, Rapunzel studied Cassandra’s expression, but the woman still refused to meet her eyes. Rapunzel turned her gaze back to the box in her hands, and, gingerly, she opened it.

Inside the box was an assortment of various different kinds of chocolates and truffles, all neatly tucked away in their own individual brown wrappings. A tiny slip of paper rested over the top of them, with one name scrawled out across it in neat, loopy handwriting: _Rapunzel._

A slow smile stretched across Rapunzel’s face, and she glanced back up at Cassandra. “Cass…” she said slowly as the woman in question began to turn red again.

“I ordered them all yesterday,” Cassandra explained awkwardly, “I knew I wanted to get your favorites, but those tend to be the most popular ones — trend-setting, and all that — so I knew I had to go and get to them before they ran out. The different candy shop owners, some of them had me on a list, with some of the chocolates set aside for me. But one of the shops said that if I wasn’t there by 8:30 in the morning, then they’d give the chocolates to somebody else if they ran out. But I overslept, so I had to run and go pick them up, and then I had to go around Corona to all the different candy shops that I ordered from and collect all the chocolates, which took… longer… than I thought it would.” She gestured wildly, “But, they’re all your favorites, so…” she shrugged, feinting nonchalance, “I figured I should do _something_ for you, since the Day of Hearts means so much to you, and all that… I’m sorry I missed it.”

Rapunzel stared at Cassandra, blinking. She was at a loss for words. “I… Cass, I—“ she shook her head and swallowed, “Thank you.”

Cass shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“‘No big deal’?” Rapunzel echoed disbelievingly, “Cass… this means the _world_ to me.”

Cassandra shifted her feet awkwardly. “Yeah, well, it’s no problem.” She cast her gaze around the room as though searching for an excuse to change the subject. Incidentally, her eyes fell on the bouquet of flowers sitting in the vase on Rapunzel’s desk. She walked over to it. “What’s this?”

Rapunzel’s stomach twisted.

“Oh, that’s—” she laughed awkwardly, “Those are… for you.”

Cassandra blinked at her. “For _me?”_

“Yeah. I wanted to get you something, but I wasn’t sure what you would like, since you’re not really the gift kind of person…” she hesitated, glanced down at the box in her arms, before clearing her throat, “But I visited the flower shop, and the florist was really nice and was telling me all the different meanings. And I figured they looked pretty, so… I got them for you.”

Cassandra was silent for a moment before she said, “You know I’m not really a flower person.”

Rapunzel frowned, downtrodden. “Yeah,” she said quietly, “I know. I just… I just wanted to give you something to show you how much I appreciate you. But it’s fine. You don’t need to keep them, or anything, they look fine in here.”

“I never said I didn’t want them,” Cass said, a little defensively. She reached out a finger and touched one of the flowers’ leaves in admiration, “They’re… nice.”

Rapunzel‘s heart fluttered. “You really think so?”

Cassandra turned back to her. “Sure,” she said with a light smile, crossing the room. She gently closed the box of chocolates, lifting it from Rapunzel’s hands and placing it on the bed beside an already-smirking Pascal.

“What—“ before Rapunzel could even finish the question, she had her answer, as Cassandra’s lips suddenly pressed into her own.

Rapunzel blinked in surprise for a second before ultimately melting into the kiss. She leaned forward and lifted her arms, carding her hands through Cassandra’s hair.

After a little while, they broke apart, Cassandra gazing softly at Rapunzel while the latter beamed like the sun.

“I love you,” Rapunzel breathed.

“I love you, too,” Cass murmured back, a warm smile on her lips.

They stayed like that, holding each other with their foreheads touching as they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes, before Cass leaned back ever so slightly to brush Rapunzel’s hair out of her eyes. She plucked the flower out from behind Rapunzel’s ear, holding it up for her to see.

“Eugene?” She said with a smirk.

“Yeah,” Rapunzel laughed, “Not quite the same level as chocolates from all across the kingdom, but it’s the thought that counts.” She took the flower from Cassandra’s hands before proceeding to boop her on the nose with it.

Cass blinked at the unexpected flower in the face, and Rapunzel giggled at her.

“Come on,” Cassandra snorted, shoving Rapunzel playfully away from her, “We should get ready for dinner. Wouldn’t wanna keep your boyfriend waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Rapunzel laughed, holding up a finger, “But first: rate your Day of Hearts experience.”

Cass scoffed. “Rate my experience?”

“Yep,” Rapunzel confirmed with a smirk. “Scale of one to ten.”

“Before or after I exhausted myself from going on a wild goose chase for chocolate?”

“Mmm… before.”

“A three, then.”

Rapunzel shrugged. “We’ve had worse.” She eyed Cass playfully, “But how about after?”

Cass rolled her eyes. “I’ll get back to you on that. The night’s not over yet.”

Rapunzel grinned. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I expect nothing less,” Cass smiled, “Now come on— we have a dinner to prepare for.”

Rapunzel’s heart swelled. It looked like she didn’t have to be worried about getting stood up, after all.


End file.
